How Much Is Your Home Worth?

If you are trying to sell your home, there are many factors to keep in mind when looking at your home’s value. Believe it or not, it isn’t just the location and condition of your home that can figure into its value. Even such details as the color of your house can cause the value to go up or down.

Factors such as a great neighborhood, a good school district, and a good street will obviously add value to your home. But other factors also play into the value of your house. These things can bring down the value:

1. The style of your house does not match the rest of those on your block.

2. You have painted the interior of your house a color that makes your house stand apart too much from those of your neighbors.

3. Is your home much bigger or smaller than the others in the area? Upgrading and adding rooms can add value to your home, but don’t go overboard so much that your home is dramatically different than the others on the block.

4. Your renovations are odd or just not up to snuff. "Some improvements that home owners make that do not improve or may hurt the value of the house are, for example, installing an expensive fence around the property. Not only is it expensive, but a fence may not blend in with the neighborhood if it is painted an odd color or if it is iron wrought while others are made out of wood," says Carl Agard, a licensed real estate broker in New York and Atlanta for over 13 years and author of two books on real estate investing.

5. Too few rooms. Do most of the homes in your area have two bedrooms while yours has one or three? This can also mean less value.

There are things you can do to improve the value, says Agard. "1. Upgrade the kitchen with up-to-date appliances, more accessible electrical outlets, and upgraded cabinets and counter tops. 2. Upgrade the bathroom with cabinets and bathroom fixtures. 3. Finish the basement area which will add to the square footage," he advises.

The best way to find out the current value of your home and also how to increase that value is by contacting a professional. Says Agard, "The best way right now with the uncertainty in the real estate market and values not being consistent with the increase in foreclosures is to get a professional appraisal from a licensed appraiser or realtor."